South Korea says North Korea fired a short-range missile off its east coast late Tuesday near the North Korean port city of Wonsan.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile flew about 200 kilometers before hitting a target on land.

The missile launch is the latest reaction by North Korea to new international economic restrictions and to joint U.S.-South Korean military operations.

On March 21, North Korea fired five short-range missiles into the East Sea from the eastern city of Hamhung. The week before, it fired medium-range missiles into the sea.

Those launches came after the United Nations placed sanctions on North Korea after its fourth nuclear test, which took place in January. A month later, North Korea tested a long-range rocket.

North Korea has been threatening for weeks to launch nuclear strikes against Washington and Seoul to protest the joint military operations. The country says it believes they are preparing a military invasion.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

VOANews.com reported on this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

short-range - adj. a missile with the ability to travel a distance of up to 500 kilometers in the air